Sawai Madhopur, Kota and Kishangarh are now connected to Delhi through air.
The Union civil aviation ministry is fostering regional connectivity through its UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) programme. The initiative, launched in April last year, has been expanding to various states. New additions to the list are Sawai Madhopur, Kota and Kishangarh, which have been connected to New Delhi from today, a senior Rajasthan government official said.
"Efforts have been made to connect the tourist city (Sawai Madhopur), the education city (Kota) and the marble city (Kishangarh) with the national capital," additional chief secretary (civil aviation) Pawan Kumar Goyal was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Mr Goyal said Sawai Madhopur is being connected through air for the first-time under the UDAN scheme, whereas Kishangarh and Kota already have connectivity to Jaipur.
He said the intra-state air services have given a boost to tourism and trade in Rajasthan and the state is on top in connecting cities through air in the country.
Mr Goyal said the initiative will lead to an increase in domestic and international tourists availing the air service and the government aims to double the foreign tourist footfall by 2020.
To improve India's regional connectivity under the UDAN scheme, a series of steps have been taken by the government. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had allocated Rs 1,014.09 crore for regional air connectivity scheme or UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik).
Under the government's UDAN initiative, air travel to India's non-metros has become affordable to the common man. The initiative, launched in April last year, has been expanding to various states and putting smaller cities and remote regions on the aviation map.